Mycobacterium tuberculosis (MTB) is a member of mycobacterium among gram-positive bacteria. Nontuberculous mycobacterium (NTM) is an atypical mycobacterium. “Mycobacterium other than tuberculosis” is a generally called for mycobacteria except M. tuberculosis. An example is Mycobacterium avium complex that has attracted huge attention since it was extensively isolated from specimens of AIDS patients.
Tuberculosis (TB) is the leading infectious killer of youths and adults and the first and most infectious disease worldwide. One third of the population in the world is currently infected and 20 million of those infected population are active cases. TB will kill 30 million people in this decade. More than 50 million people may already be infected by multidrug-resistant (MDR) strains of TB. TB is now becoming the leading cause of death among HIV positive people and it has a rapid fatality of 80%.
Tuberculosis is caused by infecting with M. tuberculosis, a bacillus bacterium. It is spread by aerosol droplets and causes irreversible lung destruction. If it escapes from the lung, it may cause systemic disease affecting many organs including bone, joint, liver, spleen, gastrointestinal tract and brain. 50% of people exposed to M. tuberculosis are infected by the bacterium and 15% of those infected people develop into a disease. Poverty, malnutrition and overpopulation contribute dramatically to the perseverance and wild spread of tuberculosis.
In the past, means of controlling TB have involved the use of combinations of antibiotics. Recently, because of complications caused by MDR strains, the number and combination of antibiotics administered must be individually tailored according to the strain. In extreme cases, surgical removal of the infected portion of the lung is required.
Traditionally, the diagnosis of TB has been made on the basis of clinical findings and chest radiographs and confirmed by sputum or tissue smears that show TB bacilli. These methods remain the “gold standard” for diagnosis.
Nontuberculous mycobacteria (NTM) are ubiquitous in the environment and include more than 90 different species, causing colonization, infection, and pseudo-outbreaks in health care settings. Data suggest that the frequency of nosocomial outbreaks due to NTM may be increasing, and reduced hot water temperatures may be partly responsible for this phenomenon. Attention to adequate high-level disinfection of medical devices and the use of sterile reagents and biologics will prevent most outbreaks. Because NTM cannot be eliminated from the hospital environment and they present an ongoing potential of infection, NTM should be considered in all cases of nosocomial infection, and careful surveillance must be used to identify potential outbreaks. Analyses of the species of NTM and the specimen source may assist to determine the significance of a cluster of isolated samples. Once an outbreak or pseudo-outbreak is suspected, molecular techniques should be applied promptly to determine the source and identify appropriate control measures.
Evidence suggests that nosocomial transmission of these organisms is increasing, and results in conditions ranging from harmless colonization to invasive infection. NTM may also contaminate microbiological specimens, which leads to unnecessary therapy and potentially harmful diagnostic procedures.
NTM have been classified into 4 groups by colony growing rate and the color showed after those colonies are illuminated:
Group 1: slow-growing photochromogens. Their colonies turn to yellow after being illuminated, including Mycobacterium kansasii, Mycobacterium marinum, Mycobacterium simiae and Mycobacterium asiaticum, which are all pathogenic bacteria. The most prevalent one among these is Mycobacterium kansasii. 
Group 2: slow-growing scotochromogens. Their colonies turn to yellow without being illuminated, including Mycobacterium scrofulaceum, Mycobacterium xenopi, Mycobacterium szulgai and Mycobacterium flavescens, which are all pathogenic bacteria, and Mycobacterium gordonae, which is a non-pathogenic bacterium. The most prevalent one among these is Mycobacterium scrofulaceum. 
Group 3: Slow-growing nonchromogens. Their colonies' colors are steady even after those colonies are illuminated, including Mycobacterium avium complex, Mycobacterium malmoense, Mycobacterium shimoidei and Mycobacterium flavescens, which are all pathogenic bacteria, and Mycobacterium gastri, Mycobacterium terrae and Mycobacterium triviale, which are non-pathogenic bacteria. The most prevalent one among these is Mycobacterium avium complex.
Group 4: Rapidly growing mycobacteria. They include Mycobacterium fortuitum, Mycobacterium chelonae-abscessus and Mycobacterium chelonae-chelonae, which are all pathogenic bacteria, and Mycobacterium phlei, Mycobacterium smegmatis, Mycobacterium vaccae and Mycobacterium flavescens, which are non-pathogenic bacteria.
Recently, investigation of putative nosocomial outbreaks of MTB or NTM has been aided by the use of molecular techniques to identify the source and mode of transmission. The development of DNA probes, polymerase chain reaction (PCR) assays, and liquid media now allow more sensitive and rapid diagnoses for MTB and NTM.
Unfortunately, increased sensitivity of rapid techniques is not always associated with increased specificity. For example, known method (such as real-time PCR assay) using the LightCycler (LC) instrument provides a rapid, sensitive and specific means to identify M. tuberculosis. PCT patent application No.: WO2007034118 disclosed a method for detecting the possible presence of bacteria belonging to the Mycobacterium tuberculosis complex in a biological sample, using real time PCR technique and comprising a step of amplifying with a pair of PCR primers and a pair of FRET probes the hsp 65 gene and detecting the emitted fluorescence. However, the use of LC as a routine diagnosis of M. tuberculosis remains limited at present. It is because the installment and maintenance cost are too expensive to be afforded by most of the users in the medical centers.
There is another method for detecting M. tuberculosis. Korean patent application KR20030075315 disclosed a method for simultaneous detection of tubercle bacillus (TB) and Nontuberculous mycobacteria (NTM) by multiple-nested polymerase chain reaction, thereby rapidly detecting tubercle bacillus and nontuberculous mycobacteria. Nested PCR is often more successful in specifically amplifying long DNA fragments than conventional PCR, but it requires more detailed knowledge of the target sequences.